Diversified approaches and strategies for developing engineering thinking among students of pedagogical universities

Abstract

The relevance of this research lies in the need to train highly qualifi ed specialists with engineering thinking. These specialists are crucial for developing the country’s scientifi c and technical potential. The training of such specialists with a broad and fl exible mindset starts from school, where the teacher plays a fundamental role. Objective: the goal of this study is to identify eff ective methods, approaches, and practices that can be used to develop engineering thinking in future teachers of physics and computer science and application of these methods and practices in the training of graduates from pedagogical universities. Hypothesis: the study hypothesizes that if the educational process in pedagogical universities is based on diverse approaches and strategies, it will contribute to the development of engineering thinking in students. Methods (tools): the research used various methods and tools to address the issue including theoretical research and analysis of publications in scientifi c journals on the subject of engineering thinking formation, synthesis and methods of logical generalizations, the questionnaire aimed at studying the readiness of future teachers to develop engineering thinking of students (by O. R. Schaefer, T. N. Lebedeva, S. V. Kraineva, and G. S. Kochetkova). Results: by assessing the potential for developing engineering thinking in the training of future teachers, we have described the experience of the Faculty of Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science at the South Ural State Humanitarian and Pedagogical University in developing this type of thinking. The survey has shown to what extent intending teachers of physics and computer science are prepared to develop engineering thinking in their students. Main conclusions: using the technological tools available in subject laboratories of techno-parks, models of engineering research, and practice-oriented tasks allows intending teachers of physics and computer science to work more eff ectively with information that contains engineering solutions. This, in turn, helps them achieve the desired outcomes in developing engineering thinking. Practical Significance: The experience of developing engineering thinking in educational institutions can be applied in teacher training. The results of this research can be used to plan and optimize the system of professional development and retraining for teachers.

Keywords

• engineering thinking
• techno-park
• quasi-professional task
• practice-oriented approach in teacher training
• pedagogical university students